I don’t doubt anyone that says it’s harder to digest/process, but I’m also of the opinion that the percentage margins we’re talking about when we say ‘harder’ are pretty slim, at least for those of us who don’t have digestive issues with table sugar (and I would expect that even the strongest guts might still need a bit of a transition period to get back up to old intake rates with new types of carbs.)
If I were a 40k TT specialist or going for an hour record (or maybe just generally closer to the podium) then I would absolutely work to find the perfect ratio of the most readily absorbable carbohydrate sources, but since I’m racing all-day gravel events and ultra-endurance stuff I just don’t think there’s any meaningful disadvantage to table sugar, especially on self-supported stuff where I’ve got to refuel in the field.
During an ultra I put 500g into a 710mL bottle for pure simplicity (it’s sold in either 500g or 1kg bags in every shop in the UK, so that’s either a full bag or a half bag, measured by eye). Depending on conditions it will mostly dissolve, but sometimes near the end of the bottle I have to squirt some fresh water in and shake it around to get rid of a bit of sludge. It’s a lot thinner than a gel, but still noticeably viscous compared to normal drink mix.
My other 710mL bottle is plain water so I can sip from the two in whatever combination suits current conditions. In UK summer I tend to go through 2x water bottles for every sugar bottle, so when I’m re-filling I’ll usually add water to the sugar bottle too and that nearly always dilutes it enough that there’s no sludge to deal with at the next sugar top-up. Also means only one bottle gets sticky!
Caster sugar (UK name, I think called extra fine sugar or baker’s sugar in the US) dissolves much much better than standard table sugar. I’d say the granules are about half the size. Normal sugar will still get there, just takes a bit more effort and is more affected by cool temperatures, but if you’re talking about less than 200g/500mL you should have no real issues.
I added about 1/2 teaspoon of powdered citric acid for flavour at first (which should in theory also mitigate any gut issues by bringing pH down). I even carried little tiny ziploc bags of pre-measured citric acid and sodium citrate (or just salt) for my first few attempts at this, but at some point I realised I didn’t miss it if I didn’t have it. Now I carry pink salt and add a tiny pinch to each bottle for osmolality but find it easier to get my measurable sodium intake from separate salt tablets.
For shorter events and my normal 1hr TR workouts I do still put my sodium in my bottles. Very occasionally some citric acid if I’m getting sick of same-ness, but mostly it’s just 100-120g sugar and a bit of salt in a 710mL bottle - shake and go!
I can’t imagine how it would be any different metabolically than drink mixes so I have no concerns there. I do remind my dentist about it at every appointment and have asked her to let me know ASAP if there’s anything to worry about, but thankfully nothing has come up yet. She says the most effective thing we can do is a plain water rinse after each big sip of sugar water, and obviously brushing teeth after big sessions when you can feel things get fuzzy.
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